Lima

I had the wonderful opportunity to go to Lima, Peru to work on their temple for a few days. It was an incredible experience, and I told myself I had to blog about it before I forgot all the details. So a couple months later...

First, I'm so grateful for my job, getting to work on temples. And working in Lima on their temple was a very humbling experience. This temple is the second smallest temple in the world, and it's also considered the busiest temple outside the U.S. It's also the only temple in Lima (but not for long!) and Lima is about twice the size of Texas. Members travel for days, saving money, to get to the temple. On Saturdays, there are crowds of people waiting all day to get in the temple. I think if most of us in Utah had to wait more than an hour to get into the closest temple to our house, we would just go home.

The temple president's wife told me a story of a family who had traveled a very long way to be sealed in the temple, but arrived after hours, around 1:00 in the morning. However, realizing the importance, the security guard called a sealer and some security guards and was able to help them be sealed right then!

The church members in Lima really put a lot of trust in the Lord. They are completely obedient to every commandment, no question. They know what is most important and will give up everything else. It seems like here, where we have everything, the most important things are forgotten. It's too easy to want more and more and not realize what we already have. I'm so glad I got to go to Lima. And even though it was a quick business trip, it really opened my heart.

I did get to do a little bit of sight seeing, and couldn't help but stare out the windows at everything It was my first time out of the country (besides Mexico and Canada) and it was a completely new experience!

I got to go into the San Francisco Cathedral catacombs. I couldn't believe how many bones were in there!

This is the exterior. Check out all the birds! And yes, that includes all the black spots you see on the right side..

We strolled through some of the downtown area and got a great little tour. Things have changed quite a bit in the last few years. They had a lot of terrorism in the past and have armed guards in front of entrances. It's a lot safer now, but it was still intimidating.

This is the government palace in Peru. It is incredible! This was built for Pizarro, yes THE Pizarro that conquered the native Peruvian people (they aren't too fond of him). I wish I could see more of this building.

On the last day I got to see the coast and watch all the paragliders.

And then, after a crazy few days, I headed home! But not after buying two awesome ponchos for the babies. :)